Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Carrot cake is healthy right? I mean, it's got carrot in it, so it has to be healthy right? Lol.

Trying to eat healthy is hard. But I figure making carrot cupcakes wouldn't be so bad. That way it's more portion controlled. Especially if I make the cream cheese frosting more liquidy, so then I'm less likely to pile it on. Good plan, yes? I'd like to think so. Plus I just found this awesome recipe that I wanted to try. I lessened the sugar a bit and it was perfect.


Carrot Cupcakes
(makes 24 cupcakes)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 1 1/4 cups canola oil
• 4 large eggs
• 3 cups peeled carrots, grated

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Line 24 cupcake molds with papers, or butter and flour them.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger to blend. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl, whisk sugar and oil in large bowl until well blended. Whisk in eggs 1 at a time.
5. Add flour mixture and stir until blended. Stir in carrots.
6. Divide batter among cupcake molds, filling 3/4 of each.
7. Bake cupcakes 14 to 18 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the center of one comes out clean.
8. Let cool in pans for 5 minutes or so, then transfer cakes to a cooling rack. Let cool completely before frosting them.

Cream Cheese Frosting

(makes 3 cups of frosting)

Ingredients:

• 2 8oz packages of cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups icing sugar
• 2 Tbsp milk (optional)

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. 
2. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners' sugar. Add milk and blend well to thin out if you want a thinner frosting.
3. Store in the refrigerator after use.